Former ATP Top 40 player J.J. Wolf will headline the player field at the 2026 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, which has already reached a rare milestone: a complete sellout for the May 4-10 USTA Pro Circuit event at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club in Vero Beach.
Wolf, a former Ohio State standout, enters the tournament as a wild card as he continues his comeback from a shoulder injury that kept him off the ATP Tour for a year. Wolf reached a career-high of No. 39 in 2023, the same year he advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open before losing to Ben Shelton in five sets. This will mark the fifth event of his return, following a dominant title run at a $15,000 tournament in Naples, Fla., where he did not drop a set, along with recent appearances in Houston, Sarasota, and Savannah.
Wolf leads a strong field that includes 2024 French Open junior champion Kaylun Bigun, 2025 Australian Open junior runner-up Benjamin Willwerth of Jupiter, Florida, former Wimbledon doubles and mixed doubles main draw competitor Aidan McHugh, and Davis Cup players Roberto Cid Subervi and Andreja Petrovic. Alex Rybakov, ranked No. 332, is the highest-ranked player in the field, followed by former Harvard captain Daniel Milavsky at No. 414.
Above: J.J. Wolf was signed earlier this year to apparel brand BOAST. Photo credit: BOAST.
“We are so thankful to all our donors for supporting our event and our cause of helping at-risk children in Indian River County start to lead healthy lives through the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation,” said Lynn Southerly, Executive Director of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. “We are also equally thankful to the members of the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club for allowing us to host this annual Vero Beach tennis tradition at their club. Their Community and tennis facility provides one of the most beautiful settings imaginable and we expect the tournament this year to be unmatched to any other futures event in the world.”
The event benefits the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, which was founded in 2007 and now supports more than 3,000 children annually across 15 elementary schools, six middle schools, and additional community organizations in Indian River County. The foundation funds after-school and summer programs focused on exercise, nutrition, and enrichment, built around its “Six Healthy Habits”: Get Sleep; Drink Water; Exercise Daily; Eat Healthy; Brush and Floss; Make Friends.
Above: J.J. Wolf wearing BOAST. Photo credit: BOAST.
“The Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club is one of the most beautiful tennis venues in Florida and will make for a spectacular setting for our Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships USTA Pro Circuit event,” said Tom Fish, chairman emeritus for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and the father of Mardy Fish. “Sea Oaks has an incredible reputation for tennis participation and for their support attending exhibition matches and our annual singles wild card event on their charming stadium court. We know this will be a unique atmosphere for a Futures level event with sold-out, standing room only crowds attending daily, which the players will certainly enjoy.”
Played annually in Vero Beach since 1995, the tournament is the fourth longest running active professional tennis event in Florida, behind only the Miami Open, the Delray Beach Open, and the Tallahassee Challenger. Over the years, it has served as a launching pad for some of the game’s biggest names, including Andy Roddick, who played his first professional tournament in Vero Beach in 1999, as well as Thomas Johansson, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton.
With a sold-out crowd and a marquee comeback story with J.J. Wolf, the 2026 edition of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships is set to deliver one of the most compelling weeks in the event’s history.
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Source: Tennis Vero Beach. Photo credit (top): Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships.